Tuesday, October 27, 2009

What are the Early Signs of Autism and How to Deal with It


Autism is a composite brain disorder that usually appears during the early years of life. The early signs of autism include inability to talk, play and interact fully with other people. Some shows mild impairment while others are really suffering in dealing with obstacles in life. The early signs of autism in toddlers can be seen as early as early as 12 to 24 months and as late as 3 years old. For those under 3 years of age, there are special laboratory tests to be conducted to be able to know if they are suffering from this disorder.

The Signs of Autism

Toddlers not smiling since 6 months of age.

Not using any gestures until 12 months.

Not saying anything until 16 months.

Cannot say any 2 word phrases until 24 months

Inability to communicate and interact with other children after 24 months of age.

Inability to have eye contact with you and with other kids of his age.

As a parent, you want to give the best to your child, but you should also be aware, that the signs of autism can be perfectly seen when he’s 3 years old. He needs to undergo an autism screening quiz to be able to analyze his situation. It is important to know and understand your child’s situation for you to know how to take care of him. There are certain foods that cannot be given to children who show signs of autism.

Most of these children are sensitive to the taste and texture of foods. Gluten is the number one NO for their taste buds. Rice, wheat, meat fish and vegetables are the best for these people. When you see early signs of autism to your toddlers, it’s better to have them go through adequate test right away.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

How to Deal with Toddler’s Aggressive Behavior


Most toddlers’ aggressive behavior can be exhibited through biting, kicking, hair pulling and other scary anti-social manifestations. You must be wondering what’s going on with your child and what’s on his mind. An aggressive behavior is part of their development.

Although, hitting and biting and other violent reactions are normal it doesn’t mean you have to ignore them. Toddler’s aggressive behavior usually develops when they cannot express themselves clearly.

The Right Things to Do

Perform a logical approach when you child starts manifesting toddlers aggressive behavior. This will be possible by sitting down with him and let him see how other children play. You can explain to him that hitting and throwing his toys is not a part of the game. He can still join the game if whenever he’s ready. Toddlers don’t have the capacity to work on their cognitive behavior but they can fully understand the consequences if you will explain it to him.

Stay cool as you talk to your child. Yelling, scolding and hitting him won’t solve your problem. You will not be a good example if you always yell at him or hit him whenever he did something wrong.

Set clear limitations to your child. You should respond right away whenever your toddler’s aggressive behavior starts. Don’t wait for him to hit his siblings for the second or third time before you respond and tell him he’s wrong. He should know right away when he’s wrong.

When you need to discipline your child, do it consistently. Parents tend to ignore their toddler’s aggressive behavior when they are not in public. This shouldn’t be the case if you want to correct your child’s activity.

When you know you’ve tried everything to correct your toddler’s aggressive behavior and no improvement shows. You should seek professional help to help you with your concern.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Secrets to Deal with Tantrums in Toddlers


Having a one to four -year old child is challenging since you have to deal with their mood swing and tantrums. Tantrums in toddlers can be devastating. It will loosen your temper as you try to pacify them. Tantrums are completely normal in children. These reactions shouldn’t be perceived as bad parenting. According to a parenting guide, tantrum is an indication of your child’s trust for you. He trust you badly that he expects you to know everything about him and that you can read his mind. There are things you can do to deal with tantrums in toddlers without being stressed out.

Tips in Dealing with Tantrums

Tantrums in toddlers start when they want something which they cannot get. They tend to hit the floor and cry their heart out. Your initial reaction is to give them what they want just to stop them from crying. This will mark in his mind that whenever he cries he can get what he wants. The next time it happened, all you need to do is just smile at him and he’ll stop because it means he cannot get it this time around.

You can your kid from throwing a tantrum by giving him a toy. This distracts him and allows him to focus on other things. This works for toddler between 1-2 years of age.
Talking to him will settle things in no time. Sometimes tantrums in toddlers happen when both parents are too busy. Tantrums are their ways to attract and invite attention from you.
Be sure your kid is not starving or weary. A toddler who doesn’t have enough sleep often manifest tantrums.

One of the hardest things of being a parent is to deal with tantrums in toddlers. It will lose all your patience and will make you feel tired easily. When you know you’ve tried everything you know but nothing seems to work, you can seek professional help from child experts. Most institutions for children provide you with practical ways to manage child behavior problems including tantrums in toddlers.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Child Behavior Modification - Learn it


Are you having difficulties talking to your toddlers? Do you feel like it is very impossible to make them listen to you? Yes, it is really hard to control the feelings of toddlers. Child Behavior Modification is so tough. There are moments that yelling at them is not enough. But stop worrying, because there you can still let your kids behave the way you want them through proper child behavior modification.

To improve the behavior of your toddlers, you may use a technique of therapy or punishment. Unless the behaviors to be changed are understood within a specific context, consultation and therapy cannot be effective. Before performing the child behavior modification, a functional behavioral assessment is what you need. It is the process of understanding behavior in context. Positive behavior support for children is formed in this method.

When child behavior modification is properly applied, strategies can result in fairly rapid behavior change; more appropriate and fewer inappropriate behaviors. Greater clarity of understanding between you and your children and less stress and conflict in household are also expected. But applying this child behavior modification can also have dangers. Too rigid approach to the child can have significant negative impact on your relationship. You need to understand both of you well to effectively apply behavior modification techniques. If you don't find ways to balance both the positive and negative reinforcement, you will probably over apply one or the other.

Some people have criticized the level of training required to perform behavior modification procedures, especially those which are restrictive that leads to punishments. Some want to limit such restrictive procedures only to the licensed psychologist or counselors. Others still desire to create an independent practice of analyzing the behavior through licensure to offer consumers choices between proven techniques and unproven ones. Experts are not saying that you have to apply all these child behavior modification techniques to your every child. Choose one that best fit your situation so you can discipline them accordingly. What matters is that you can show your care and love to your children despite some disciplinary actions you give them.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Create Motivating Activities for Toddlers


The best activities for toddlers should be fun and educational. You have to remember that at this is the stage, child adopts all things that happen around him. This is also the best time to allow your child into different activities. These activities help the child develop his motor skills and social roles since they start to play with other children. Activities for toddlers are mostly free and spontaneous.

Toddlers usually play with the furniture, dishes, cooking utensils, play telephone, puzzles with large pieces, pedal propelled toys, rocking horse, finger paints, pounding toys and balls. Activities for toddlers must be geared toward the development of their strength, ability, muscle and wellness. To engage your child in this kind of activity here are few things to follow:

Developing their muscles

Prepare colorful scrap paper and a small hole puncher. Your toddler will use the puncher as this develops his hand grip muscles and also provides some colorful fun. To stimulate hand-eye coordination, play the “bean bag toss.” Throw, bounce and kick a ball to help stimulate arm-leg muscle development.

Language and Cognitive Skills

Activities for toddlers include walking around the park and encouraging him to pick up interesting objects that he finds along the way. Ask him to open questions about what he observed on the objects he picked. Then, help him study by letting him feel and discuss the things he collected.

Listening and Memory Skills

Activities for toddlers to sharpen his mind must be played. Play a memory or matching game such as "Simon Says." It helps with your toddler's listening skills.

Creative Expansion
Let him play with clay dough, or let her help you in baking cookies. Give him pencil and paper, let him draw, color and paint. Let him listen to a variety of music and allow him to dance along with the music.

Stimulating activities for toddlers are easier than you think. It only requires your attention, guidance and creativity.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Learning Through Online Games for Toddlers


Teaching toddlers has just become more advanced and exciting through the emergence of computer games. You probably have heard of online games, haven’t you? These are games that are played using the Internet. Technology has evolved and so is learning because of the Internet. Online games for toddlers are relatively new although they have been in the market for quite some time now. There are few websites that offer quality online games for toddlers.

Some websites teach your kids on basic reading and counting such as ABC’s and 123’s. Some teach about sounds while others teach about identifying objects. If you search the Internet, you can find lots of online games for toddlers that you can choose from.

Some websites advice parents to first play online games for toddlers before the kids. This is to encourage the parents that those games are fun and safe for kids. If parents feel comfortable with the games then they can allow their toddlers to play them.

With these games, you can say that infants and toddlers are not left behind in terms of technology. Being exposed to computers can greatly benefit them in the future. One effective way of introducing computers to your little ones is by playing online games for toddlers. When a child is comfortable with computers, they will be more creative and willing to explore new horizons.

There are children that are exposed to computers at an early age so they can already master programming before they reach high school. Online games for toddlers play a significant role in introducing your child to technology. There are vast resources and information online that your toddlers can utilize in their development. Your child can become the next Bill Gates if guided accordingly. With the right motivation and utilization of various tools, nothing is impossible.

What are the Right Toys for Toddlers?

Kids love toys. There are lots of toys for toddlers in the market today. But, not all are safe for your kids. Parents should choose wisely when looking for toys for toddlers. Some toys may not be suitable for kids because of its small parts as well as the materials that were used.

Think of toys for toddlers as investments. These are investments in education, skill development and mental development. Educational toys are toys that can teach your toddler ABC’s and 123’s. These are also the toys that teach your child how to recognize shapes and objects. Some educational toys are designed for problem solving. An example is stacking blocks and simple puzzles. These toys for toddlers enhance the mental ability of the child.

Skill development is important for every individual. By finding toys for toddlers that aid in the skill development of a child, you can give your toddler an edge over other kids. Toys with turning screws, play sets, balls, role playing toys and toy cars are activity toys that you can give your child. Activity toys help in enriching your child’s imagination as well as bridging the gap between the adult world and the kids’ world.

Kids love imitating adults, especially their parents. The problem is that it is not safe for toddlers to play with things that are made for grown-ups. Children will learn how to use these things by giving them various toys for toddlers that are replicas of the usual things that grown-ups use. You can have fun with your child while you teach them how to use these stuffs. A doctor play set allows your child to imitate what real doctors do. A toy car and toy garage set can train the next Michael Schumacher. Studies showed that toys are essential to the development of a child. So choose the toys that you give your toddler.